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Just after the close of World War II, the last Great Migration in the United States — the move from the city to the new suburbs — began to emerge, fueled by new roads, low congestion, and modest energy costs. It was a new beginning, a chance to shake off the past, and it came complete with the promise of more privacy, more safety, and easier financing. Not surprisingly, Americans bought in.

After that, it didn’t take long for the preferred retailers to do likewise, abandoning the city and following their customers to the suburbs. The suburban single family home on a large lot became synonymous with the American Dream.

After 60 years, many commentators have announced that the American Dream is making its next great shift — this time from the suburbs to the urban core of our cities. Indeed, at the recent New Partners for Smart Growth Conference in San Diego, Chris Nelson, Joe Molinaro and Shyam Kannan made it clear that a radical shift in preferences is on the horizon.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new report examining residential construction trends in America’s metropolitan regions, which finds that nearly three out of four large metropolitan regions saw an increased share of new housing development in previously developed areas during 2005 – 2009 compared to 2000 – 2004.

Known as infill housing, this type of development provides economic and public health benefits to metropolitan areas while protecting the local environment. Infill housing saves money and energy by taking advantage of previous investments in existing infrastructure (such as water, sewer, and roads). This type of development can also help preserve open space, protect natural resources, and reduce transportation emissions and the amount of polluted stormwater washing off new roadways and other paved surfaces.

We can now add even smaller cities with populations under 250,000 to the convincing body of evidence showing that the decades-long trend of urban decline in America has been reversed. In most American cities, the opposite is now true: central cities are growing, and growing faster than their suburbs.

This is immensely hopeful news for those of us who care about sustainability. Nothing has been worse for our environment or, I would argue, our social fabric than the unbridled suburban growth that sprawled across our landscape in the second half of the 20th century, sucking investment and life out of our cities. Although it has become trendy to focus on the so-called “shrinking cities” in the nation’s Rust Belt, the truth is that virtually all American cities were shrinking until quite recently. Even Washington, DC, whose downtown is now considered to be booming, lost 20 percent of its population between 1950 and 2000.

America’s major metro area downtowns welcomed double-digit population growth in the decade ending 2010, more than double the rate of growth for their overall cities, according to the U.S. Census. As more Americans, particularly college-educated young adults ages 25 to 34, opt for urban lifestyles, cities scramble to revitalize their central business districts.

I like that you re-posted several different sources with several slightly different points which all come to the same conclusion.
It’s an exciting time to be in and around downtown. Now if we can get those office vacancies down with new companies started by these downtown dwellers, we’ll be in great shape.

Why are young adults returning to the city?
Posted by Robert Steuteville on 08 Aug 2013

Much has been said about Millennials — the generation born from 1980 through the late 1990s, sometimes called Gen Y and Echo Boomers — choosing downtown living. Two-thirds of this cohort believes it is important to live in walkable neighborhoods, the consultant Robert Charles Lesser & Company has reported. As downtowns revive, Millennials often account for the lion’s share of the market.

Millennials Make Cities A Better Place To Live — For Everyone
Posted: 09/10/2013 9:49 am

This is the era of the city. It is also the era of the Millennial. With a growing population of bright, diverse, wired and connected young people who really care about where they live, the two are ideal for each other.

Whether in the developed world, where many Millennials are moving to cities by choice, or in the developing world, where the move is often by necessity, cities are the places where most of the world’s greatest economic and social opportunities exist. And for those cities that really want to grow and thrive, attracting this important generation and making cities more hospitable to Millennials is something that should matter to city leaders.

Understanding the preferred tastes and desires of the particular demographic that contemporary urban placemakers most seek to attract—the Millennials—is one of the planning profession’s major preoccupations. One of the advantages of teaching urban studies to a college audience is that it allows one to take something of the pulse of what Millennials want in urban settings. This is best done by putting students in the field to study real urban environments. Denver is terrific for that. But some online game playing can also be useful as a warm-up.

The Millenials Are Marching…But is Anyone Else?
Posted by Alan Mallach on February 18, 2014

Last month I wrote about how well-educated members of the millennial generation are moving in large numbers to the central cities, and how places like Baltimore, Pittsburgh and St. Louis are seeing dramatic increases in the number of college-educated 25 to 34 year olds.

There is no question that this is changing cities in some ways, but to me, the real question—which is where I ended last month—is whether it is just about downtown lofts, tapas bars and fitness centers, or are we seeing a fundamental change in the trajectory of American cities?

Well one thing it depends on is whether they stay in the cities after they hit their 30s and have kids and whether the next generation continues the trend and replaces them if they leave.

I actually think that some retirees may follow the trend too. The gated subdivisions of Florida and Arizona don’t seem to be quite as popular as they used to be. The idea of having to drive less appeals to older people as well as young.

UrbanPlanner2112 said:
Well one thing it depends on is whether they stay in the cities after they hit their 30s and have kids and whether the next generation continues the trend and replaces them if they leave.

I actually think that some retirees may follow the trend too. The gated subdivisions of Florida and Arizona don’t seem to be quite as popular as they used to be. The idea of having to drive less appeals to older people as well as young.

These were my exact thoughts. Will this young crowd moving into these downtown areas still hold the same “values” when they are in their 30′s, have children, and have more money to spend. I know my values and priorities in my mid twenties have virtually nothing in common with my current priorities going into my late 30s.

True. Schools are a *huge* issue right now. I feel there is some positive momentum for change, but none of it is going to be easy.

It’s worth noting that there are already solid existing options in urban Columbus for schools, which makes for a lot of different possibilities for how Millennials can deal with mixing their urban living preferences with good school options for kids. Private schools, lottery options and inner-city suburbs (Grandview, Bexley) as well as good neighborhood schools like Clintonville mean that you don’t necessarily have to flee outside the outerbelt to find a good education.

Schools is a huge thing, but I guess if you are college educated and buying into a neighborhood (on the cheaper side) that is purportedly “on the rise” like KLD or OTE you would likely have the left over discretionary income to send your kids to private school if your local schools were not up to snuff, or if the great charter school experiment ends up being a bust.

The Millenials Are Marching…But is Anyone Else?
Posted by Alan Mallach on February 18, 2014

Last month I wrote about how well-educated members of the millennial generation are moving in large numbers to the central cities, and how places like Baltimore, Pittsburgh and St. Louis are seeing dramatic increases in the number of college-educated 25 to 34 year olds.

There is no question that this is changing cities in some ways, but to me, the real question—which is where I ended last month—is whether it is just about downtown lofts, tapas bars and fitness centers, or are we seeing a fundamental change in the trajectory of American cities?

Survey: To recruit and keep millennials, give them walkable places with good transit and other options
22 Apr 2014

Four in five millennials say they want to live in places where they have a variety of options to get to jobs, school or daily needs, according to a new survey of Americans age 18-34 in 10 major U.S. cities, released today by The Rockefeller Foundation and Transportation for America.

Three in four say it is likely they will live in a place where they do not need a car to get around. But a majority in all but the largest metros rate their own cities “fair” or “poor” in providing public transportation, and they want more options such as car share and bike share.